Italy's Rail Delays Spark Calls for Salvini's Resignation

By Crispian Balmer

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's deputy premier and transport minister Matteo Salvini faced calls for his resignation on Wednesday following a spate of major delays to hit the nation's beleaguered rail network.

Bouts of widespread disruption across Italy have become increasingly commonplace, leaving passengers stranded, sometimes for hours, as workmen try to patch up the latest fault on the lines.

On Wednesday, delays were reported on regional routes in central Italy and on intercity traffic between Rome and Naples. On Tuesday, an electrical problem blocked the capital's main railway hub for almost an hour, resulting in lengthy hold-ups, while bad weather snarled rail services in the far south.

In a rare moment of unity, all the main opposition leaders voiced their anger over Salvini's performance this week, while the centrist Italia Viva party of former prime minister Matteo Renzi launched a petition to try to force him to stand down.

"The national railway network is in a state of collapse. Every day thousands of Italians have to suffer unbearable delays, continuous breakdowns, cancelled trains and degrading travelling conditions," the party said.

Salvini has dismissed the criticism, with his League party arguing that the rail system is paying the price for years of underinvestment.

On Wednesday, the state railway operator, Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), said it suspected its services were being sabotaged, noting that many of the most complex problems arose at peak hours, causing maximum disruption.

"In light of yet another anomalous incident on the network and a list of highly suspicious circumstances, the FS Group has prepared a very detailed complaint which it has now filed with the competent authorities," it said.

The far-right League welcomed the move, which will likely trigger a police investigation, while Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party rallied to the side of their under-fire ally.

"For some time now Matteo Salvini has been the target of a denigrating and mendacious campaign," said Galeazzo Bignami, a parliamentary party leader of Brothers of Italy.

Besides regular technical problems, rail transport has been hit by repeated strikes over the past year, most recently last Friday, that rarely halt all traffic but generate long delays.

Italy has some 16,830 km (10,460 miles) of railway lines in use as of 2023, carrying more than 800 million passengers a year.

The government is looking to extend the fast service to the far south, while also beefing up its operations in the north, especially around the port city of Genova.

(This story has been refiled to correct the spelling of the train operator from Ferrovia to Ferrovie, in paragraph 7)

(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Alison Williams)